"Mom, Dad, It's Him!!" -K. Brent Nattress

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I feel that this simple subject fits so perfect! I have come to realize that it isn't about just the spiritual experiences, but finding Gods hand in everything you do and every situation. And I have always felt that if you tell someone your goals they always are easier to achieve. So my goal is to not only tell you my testimony now, but when I return to tell you, "It's Him!" That simple line means so much and I know that as we suffer and realize that it is making us become like God that we will be able to see it him in every situation! God is real, and He does want us back!! If you question these things please read a story that I read earlier this week! (Alma 30)

Here is how my week went!

Week September 26-2 October 2016

Monday:

Today was a very amazing Monday where we were able to get a normal amount of stuff done! And I think the favorite part of the morning after emailing my family was getting a good haircut! It just seems to be a stress reliever and just so nice to have a good message on my hair just by getting a haircut! I sure miss my mom when she would scratch my head! So today we had a wonderful time as a zone just getting to know each other, and I had a blast, because I was able to play soccer that I have been lacking at playing in a long time! So today we were able to go and have dinner with the Stafford family, and I really felt like I fit in there, because the husband is a young dad who is gringo, or white, and the rest of the family is Hispanic! So for me I was like, man you understand me!:) ha but it was wonderful to be there and then we were able to go and teach a family that lives super far away from the church named the Gamboa family! They were fun to teach and loved the lesson on the priesthood! I think the thing that caught my attention now is the fact that a me,her we taught said two things that made me think. He said, "as humans in today's society we can both be lost in a so called darkness or apostasy, and we can be in the shoes of Nephi everyday as we just say that we are Mormons, because at that point we decide whether to be apart of the cool crowd, or the church of God!" As I thought about that I realized that each of us can be like Nephi and fight strong and frankly forgive others, or we can be his sad brothers and their wives that just fight against a God that never looses!

Tuesday:

I am just so amazed by the readiness of these new missionaries and wish I came out as ready as they did! Today I was blessed with the learning opportunity of going on a day exchange with Elder Hanks. An Elder that has a week in the mission field from Payson Utah! He is already on fire with his Spanish and really has an understanding of the Gospel. I am more than certain he has been a great example for his family growing up. As we studies for our lessons today he taught me how every commandment from God hinges off of just two simple commandments. Love God and love thy neighbor as thyself. And by those two things we receive all of our blessings like it says in D&C 130:20-21. "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we receive a blessing from God, it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated."

On our exchange we were able to do so all phases of he work where we went finding but then had lessons with Isaac Sanchez our recent convert, Marquez Family for dinner, and after family home evening, Sergio Hernandez our investigator. All of these lessons I tried my hardest to let Elder Hanks speak and help him where necessary, and as I did that I noticed he did a great job and the people were able to make out what he said. I am grateful that you can always learn new things in life, because even though I may be a more seasoned missionary, I am able to remember the basics of the gospel even more when I am with these new missionaries! What a wonderful day!

Wednesday:

What a wonderful day in Denton with Elder Warby!

So today I was able to go with Elder Warby in his area in Denton, and it was very tiring, but fun. I think the biggest thing I learned from him was Humbleness. He is so open to learning new things and even more humble when he teaches. He shows full respect, but sweetly and powerfully bares his testimony as he invites, and has been a huge example to me as we were out and about! We biked and contacted different people most of the afternoon, and then we were able to go to the church for a meeting, and I was hoping I would see a lot of members but the only one I really saw was Moises Garcia. We had a good visit and meeting and I was glad to hear that he has been giving out Books of Mormon to his family and friends in their hard trials. So the time came where we should get heading out and Elder Warby said, "We need to go by one more house and teach a small lesson." So we biked for what seemed like 30 minutes when we knocked on a door and an investigator came out named Luis. He had his Book of Mormon in hand and seemed a little anxious and stressed. As we began to talk he just said, "I don't have time, and this book is confusing me. I don't have time to keep trying to switch my religion right now." And it looked like he was going to try and give us the book back, so right away we both offered to read he first part with him, and hesitantly he agreed. As we read we explained how the book starts in the times of Jeremiah and then Lehi leaves after a vision from God. as we explained that I asked, "Hno. Do you think that this could be? Do you think that God would call prophets like he did in the past?" And he responded, yes and explained how his church believed in a leader who started back in Jesus time. So we asked him how he could receive and answer and talked about the spirit. He, however, had never felt or heard what it feels like. So we taught from the Bible and testified and he said with a smile on his face, "I felt that feeling when my daughter was born..." hearing that brought so much joy to me and I just helped him understand that feeling by saying, "hermano, that is how God speaks to us, through the spirit to tell us the things that are true and that will make us happy!" At the end of that simple lesson he went from not feeling like he had time to wanting to read it and holding it a little closer to him, and I know he will try to read it now!

Today was a great and very tiring day!

Thursday:

I thought that just exchanges was hard to do in a week, but today tested the both of us on our ability to plan! So today I was picked up in Denton at about 10 and we went straight from there to head to our interviews back in Hurst, and we barely made it in time, and it was a blessing we showed up 5 minutes before! So we hurried and changed into our suits and into the interviews, then changed again to go back and drive to pick up lunch and good to Lewisville. As we started our exchange I was happy to be able to come back to my area with Elder Thompson again where we had a very busy day ahead of us! We had a wonderful time with 3 lessons that we had! We had a lesson with Rey Castillo, where one of our members showed up and was ready to teach the lesson with us by complete surprise practically, and the lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ went so well! We taught from 2 Nephi 31 and really gave him insight and helped him learn. I am so excited for him to be baptized! Then we went straight to a lesson with the Martinez family. The husband named Pablo is not a member and has been taught for years and just isn't budging, but we were able to teach him the need of being baptized after weeks of just being his friend with the help of the same member, Hno. Benitez, and it was just so wonderful! He was open and said, "I know I need too, but I am just wanting to learn enough to defend myself first, and then I will for sure be ready." That was a shocker to us, because he never showed that kind of interest, and here the whole time I was afraid that he was going to be offended or take steps back with this! So we are just so happy with how the work is moving along here in Our area of Hurst and Haltom and are never going to slow down!

Friday:

I am going to make my writing for today very simple, because this week has been so tiring, and I am exhausted and trying to keep up in my journal and also my eyes won't stay open! So today finishing our exchanges was amazing and on the way back, and I believe my favorite times with the Assistants is when they let us council with them about things going on in he mission, and we were able to get a lot of things taken care of, and also learned a few new things that we now have deadlines with! So it was awesome! Also I love today because we were able to get lost way out of our area up by Denton looking for some of our missionaries to whom we were going to have a Language study with! So as we were there with Elder Reich and Elder Mendoza we had a little different situation that usual. We went in and we trying to teach an English missionary how to help his companion Learn how to speak in English. Where he never has had to help someone learn or learn himself he felt very lost. So we gave lots of good ideas and gen also helped Elder Mendoza understand how important it was to keep going forward! Something that he did for me that I never want to forget was while he was praying to end our study he prayed specifically for him, and then said, "Also, father, please help Spendlove as he learns Spanish, that he can also have the gift of tongues" in his broken Spanish, and It made me realize how much love he did have for me and for just people in general! Also one more thing that really hit me this evening is when we were teaching a husband of another member, and he is ready for baptism, but we just have to teach him the lessons! As we finished the lesson he offered the prayer and he said, "Buenas Noches Dios, quiero......"(Good Evening/Night God, I want..) and he went on. To me that impacted me dramatically that he rated off by saying Good Evening. Why? Because to me It smacked me in the face and made me think, "when was the last time you had a real CONVERSATION with God? Do you even feel he is real and listening to you? Do you feel his response or even try too? As I thought about that I realized how much I needed to repent and find ways of not waking up at 12 and finding myself still on my knees. Standing for my prayers or whatever necessary to be able to stay away and have a conversation with him! Like President Whitney taught me yesterday in my Interview. There are four things that a missionary must do to become the best he can be. 1) Pray: Have a relationship with God. 2) Study the Scriptures: Learn of his teachings focused more in the Book of Mormon. 3) Study Preach My Gospel: To learn properly how to teach by the Spirit. 4) Study the Missionary Handbook/ White Bible: To learn the rules of the mission that have so many blessings for us as we obey. Today was a wonderful day!

Saturday:

How do you make a missionary truly happy? Surround him by more missionaries, let him listen to General Conference and then let him be with the Elders Quorum and get to know gem better!

For me, that is how I found my happiness even greater today! So today I would like to relate a few experiences that happened to me that give me a testimony where I know can not deny God at all working in my life. So today after some good 2 hours of studies we got into the truck and began to drive towards the Stake center for Conference when we were stopped at a red light. The light was always a long one, and as we sat, Elder Lopez remembered he forgot his Journal at home a minute back. So as the light turned green at the 3 way intersection we made a u turn back home. Right as I began to turn I saw a green car coming very quickly to the place where I would have been if we didn't have to go back. And to my surprise it wasn't slowing down. As we hurried and turned around and straightened out we saw that car fly behind us through a so,I'd Red light. However, happy we were that we, nor anyone else got hurt. Whether it was an accident or God that made him forget his journal it saved our lives this morning, and  going to the church to learn from the leaders really helped me understand that it was definitely Gods hand in our life today! I was blessed to be uplifted today by wonderful church leaders who know how to help the lost and the weary find their way, and who help those who are service ready to understand how to properly serve! For me I felt the main focus was on the restoration of Gospel truths and very focused on the plan of salvation, and I was very emotional by the talk given for the missionaries of the church! We don't need recognition, nor do we hope to get it, but knowing our leaders truly love us is what truly helped me this day! "Member Missionary work is not a program, but an attitude of the living of the Gospel." - Dallin H. Oaks 

Love one another as I have loved you. This simple line can be a very simple and easy thing to do, or it can be a task and one of he hardest things to do. But however we look at it, it is a commandment of the lord and must be fulfilled! As the conference went on I just kept thinking, I'm a missionary. I walk and talk to everyone and teach them about Christ, but where do I lack. And my answer came this evening as the priesthood session came to an end. As we pulled out of the church parking lot this evening we instantly saw hazard lights on and a truck pulled in the middle of two busy roads with very little space to work with on either side. As we pulled out however, I instantly decided to pull behind him and turn my hazards on as well. As we jumped out we went to him and could see him in distress as his tire had flattened in travel and had rubbed through to the rims. He was struggling to get the nuts to budge loose with the limited tools that he had, and to make the matters even harder, there were cars flying past him coming off the freeway going about 50 or so miles an hour with limited sight as the sun had gone down. We asked if he needed help and he hung up his phone, looked at us and said yes, and then said that all he knew where super far away and that he didn't have the tools. We sat and looked at the problems and realized that we also didn't have the tools. However, as we came to that realization we noticed another brother from the church, in his big truck, pulled up behind us and had the tools we needed. It took a while to get the spare tire on, and the cars were flying past us to the point we could feel the wind pull us around a bit as the car flew by. As we worked side by side with this man names Jesus we got to know him. We finished and he didn't know how to thank us, but without fail I gave him a card and told him how we found him, and he was very grateful. We know he was relieved and that God did love him. And one of the things I learned was this. When your focused inward you rarely look for or act on service opportunities, but when you focus outward on others you realize that service pops up and you desire to be helping at every moment possible. Also I came to the conclusion that Dirty tire marked hands don't bother me and I don't want to wash them, because I know what it means to me now!  Today was a wonderful day where God gave me the chance to serve and use the Priesthood that he has endowed me with!

Sunday:

It is amazing how the General Conference can just come and go so fast, and just a bit saddening thinking that it will be another 6 months before we hear from all of them in a group again. So today there was a lot of talks and a lot of things taught, but the one message that caught my attention like crazy was the talk by K. Brent Nattress.

He brought tears to my eyes as he said, I said, "Mom, I'm not listening." And she replied, "son, I received a promise that if I read the Book of Mormon to my kids everyday I wouldn't lose my children. And Brent, I will not loose you!!" It made me tear up, because I believe fully that this is how both of my parents raised me. They listened to the prophets voice, and even when times were hard and they thought we were not listening we truly were. I would say in times when they thought we were not watching, we truly were. As a son I am very grateful to God for giving me the earthly parents that he did. For their examples of faithfulness to the lord through service and through personal Study of Scriptures and through prayer and family time! Because of them I know have a goal that when I return home I can look my parents in the eyes and say to both of them, "Mom, Dad, I found Him, it's him! To end I want to bare my testimony. I know that this church is true, and I know it not because someone has told me, but because I have tested it and still test it. I have read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. I have felt the spirit and found comfort in my hard times, and I know that Joseph is the prophet of the Restoration. I know the church is true not by the people in it, but by the Restored Gospel or Doctrine of Christ that is found in it! And I end by quoting Boyd K. Packer. "The Atonement leaves no tracks or traces. What has been healed stays healed!" I know that to be true!

I want to thank each one of you for your love and support and I want you to know that I love and pray for everyone of you daily!! Please know that you are loved by God and that he truly is your loving Heavenly Father that does know how you feel in every situation! Pray to him for strength and never, no never, give up!

Have a great week!!

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

De la Misión de Texas Fort Worth

"The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" D&C 122:8

Dear Family and Friends,

I feel privileged to be a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ and to be able to wear his name on over my heart for 2 years, but may I add, I feel loved, special, in debt, and grateful that I can choose for myself through God given Agency to have the name of Christ burned in my heart forever! 

Today I feel like sharing a little bit more about the language and how it was to learn to start off, and then I will let you know how my week went!

So to start off my mission I had feelings of anxiety and unworthiness as I tried to learn Spanish, and I even felt angry at those who didn't speak Spanish because I was so focused on myself. I always thought, "they are in America, they should speak English!" And then I began to understand where I was so mistaken... I realized that it was me that was self centered and I wasn't think of them as children of God. However as I began to understand the gift of tongues and also the culture of the Hispanic people more I began to look outward instead of in. I struggled with the language and didn't have confidence for about 6 months or so, until one day I just began to read the scriptures and learn so much, as I went to write some notes down in my study journal and suddenly I realized I was writing in Spanish and then I looked quickly to my Book of Mormon to realized I had been reading it in Spanish for my whole personal study! I was shocked, and realized that I did know the language, and I just had to act and talk to everyone!

Now and then I have struggles on talking about other things outside of mission setting, but am working on it!

I love Spanish so much! And actually would say I am Hispanic now!;)

Here is how my week went!

Week September 19 - 25 2016

Monday:

So today was a very wonderful day where we were able to have fun at Pday, and I was able to get me some really nice dress shoes and a belt to go with it thank you to my wonderful family and friends who sent me a little bit of money! Also today was a really cool experience to be able to see how family home evenings can be a blessing in the lives of others! We went with the Benitez family and were able to teach a family home evening lesson to Karla Hernandez and her son Erik. They seemed to love the lesson on a family unity, and then the fun activity we had at the end where we wrote the names of all our family hat we wanted to live together forever with and we put them together to make long chains and we taught by Hna. Benitez that by being sealed into the temple these links will never break and that we will be able to live with all our family members again! It was a very good family home evening and Karla feels so comfortable with us!

Tuesday:

Well this week is just flying by, and it has been just super busy! So today we had he blessing to eat breakfast as a district before Hna. Whimple leaves, and it was just a wonderful experience, and we also had a wonderful opportunity to be apart of the new missionaries coming into the mission. They all arrived around 12:30 and we welcomed them to the mission and had wonderful trainings from 12:30 to 5:30 pm, where we then sent them off for dinner to presidents house! However, during this time we were able to do some wonderful role plays with the new missionaries where they teaches us, and I was so impressed with how much the 6 missionaries knew their Spanish and how well the other 13 new their doctrine! I am super excited to get to work with them a little bit more with all of the upcoming  exchanges we will get to go on! So after our time in the amazing office we went to a dinner with Isaac and Ana Sanchez and had the sweetest surprise as we finished dinner and they pulled out a professionally made cake that was decorated and said, "Feliz Cumpleaños Elderes!" It literally made me feel so loved and wonderful knowing they cared about us that much! So of course Spanish tradition is smashing my face in the cake, and all I can say is it was so much fun and made me feel at home being with them, even if all I can smell is cake! Somthis evening we got back just in time to see Sergio and to teach him with Elder Wolfert, my district leader, as Elder Lopez went and finished off the transfer ride notes, and all together it was just a huge success and we may be having 3 baptisms on the 8th of October! Sergio Hernández, Karla Hernandez and Karen Hernandez, non of which are family members! Today was just so fast, and now we are just sitting trying to make sure we are ready for tomorrow!

Wednesday:

“If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart—painted, as Paul said, 'not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.' ...

“Our desire to share the gospel takes all of us to our knees, and it should, because we need the Lord’s help.” - Elder Neal L. Anderson

Today was such a busy day! To start off, today was Transfer day and what does that mean. That means we were there at 8 helping members find the missionaries going with them and missionaries finding their rides! Even though I am exhausted when I finish, I love it so much, because we are always going and for some reason I just love that feeling of being busy, but not overwhelmed! So today I was in charge of collecting information for those missionaries going home, along with collecting their Tiwi driving cards and IPads, and it was a lot of extra work, but still a blast getting to see the excitement and nervousness that they have! And tomorrow they will be home with their family, that is the weirdest thought for me, because I just feels like it will never come, but ever Transfer I realize it is closer and closer! So today after transfers we went and had a wonderful dinner with the Carreon family and I was able to help them understand how I feel having to learn Spanish and how it would help not only me, but everyone if they helped us by teaching us the culture, and they agreed and now we are just going to plan a day out for it! They are a wonderful family! Also the other family we went by and taught as the Nickels. A return missionary couple that met on their mission and have a little girl that is only 3 months old. We actually did a question and answer with them about their missions and how they worked with members, and it worked out really well and we came home with great ideas! Today was just a wonderful day, but I felt a little bit on the quiet side and I think it is because our lack of planning for lessons, and I need to put my part in more to planning! 

Thursday:

Weeks feel like days and Days feel like weeks..... it is crazy to think today was already Thursday and that tomorrow is Friday! And to make the time fly by even fast we were super busy and just had no time to think of anything but Preach the Gospel, and that is exactly what we did! So today after some really good studies where I actually was able to learn a lot about not only Doctrine, but also about the language. We are planning a district language study and culture study, and it is going to be a great class where we are going to learn the cultures of all the Spanish speaking places and find how to love them even more! So as we finished there and finished our weekly planning we went straight to work. We went to have lunch with the Galaso family that I actually came to know from Fort Worth 7 Spanish ward. The Hno. Is from Argentina and the Hna. Is from Colombia! They both have a crazy accent and they were a little harder to understand, but I noticed as I was visiting with her my accent also because to change a little, and it made me laugh. What I hear I seem to follow because I don't have a basic accent on any given state in Mexico!? After the wonderful lunch and lesson about the work of salvation in the ward we went to visit Rey Castillo. As we walked in the fancy office of his complex we saw him with his big smile and just so happy! He bought us orange juice because it seems to be a tradition we have. He had some wonderful questions in the Book of Mormon, and the best one was that he found that one of his favorite chapters right now is 2 Nephi 9, which is very much the words of Isaiah! As we teach him what it is saying, I also have been learning so much! As we left him we went and drove out of our giant area to teach member, but as we got there after 35 minutes of driving in bad traffic, we found out they had to leave on an emergency run! So we decided to go back and visit Samira and AG, some other investigators we couldn't get into yesterday. And it was amazing to find out that a God wanted us there today, because today both Samira and AG found our that both of their parents don't have much time to live. Samiras mom is full of cancer and they don't give her much time to live, and AGs dad has Heart failure. So we shared the plan of salvation and then AG asked if we could talk about priesthood blessings. We did and then Samira asked if she could have one of comfort, and so we did and she loved it and thanked us so much! She also told us that she knew we came at the exact necessary time! We feel so bad for their situation, but know it is for their growth. Our last lesson was with AGs mom and step dad, the Zuniga's. We had a family home evening and they fed us dinner, and it was just a wonderful day!! I wish every day was this packed with things to do and such wonderful lessons!

Friday:

Recently my thoughts have been turned towards how to stand tall through troubling times. It seems like every person we are teaching and my friends and family are all struggling with staying on the straight and narrow and Satan's is trying harder than he ever has before, because he knows that the coming of our lord is nigh! So I haven't done to much studying per say on just how to be strong, yet, I feel like God has been helping me study for it! So this week I have realized that instead of teaching the restoration 100 times we have actually been teaching lesson 4 with all of our investigators and recent converts. I just thought it was luck, but then realized as I began to study more that no, it was god helping me see that through obedience, reading, praying, going to church and following the prophet are what truly keep us safe and strong with the armor of God when Satan tries to shoot his darts of temptation our way. So today... today we had a wonderful planning session with the assistants for our exchanges we will be going on in his transfer, and then we did our own personal planning session to finish up from yesterday's planning! As we got done we also receive 2 more people that are interested in being baptized that are friends of members! God is really trusting us right now! So today was just full of lessons and was a very spiritually draining day, but always worth it! So as we taught today I was so happy to make it to the house of Karla Hernandez and find that Hna. Benitez, her mother and her little girl were already inside just visiting and having a great time! Karla feels at home, because she now has a family! And I am so excited to see just how far she goes! Also she said a wonderful prayer and asked the lord to bless her as she becomes committed and also asked for us to be safe and teach everyone how to feel what she feels! Really we had a similar experience with Sergio Hernandez! Something about the last name just makes them solid!;)

Saturday:

I believe today was probably one of the busiest Saturdays I had had so far I the mission, and was also on of the most successful Saturdays! So all in all we had an amazing missionary correlation meeting and were able to take care of a lot of needs, and then we had 5 lessons that were a huge success throughout the day! So we taught the Benitez family, Mariela Contreras (active member with lots of questions), Denise Vasquez (single mom who is lost), Miguel Gonzales ( 9 year old boy who's parents want hi to get baptized) and AG Ybarra ( less active member who is always wanting us to go by, because he loves the feeling we bring). So in the whole day of teaching I feel like there was one major concern that was hard for both me and my companion to concern. We always teach that the Gospel blesses individuals, but I don't know how to show that unless I bring up families, and some of these people don't have spouses and feel like the church makes them upset instead of happy. Another main thing I learned is that you may have seen gods hand in your life, but you still have to choose whether or not you want to be happy and follow Him.life is really what you make it, and sadly a poor return missionary has lost her faith as she has been divorced and feels like she will never find an eternal companion. However, I know that a God has a plan for each of his children and I never want to loose that hope that yes I can be eternal whether I find my companion in this life or not! I know that this Gospel is real and I will never go or stop going to church because of other people. I go for me and God!

Sunday:

Today was such a wonderful Sunday! I feel so at home as I walk in the chapel and the first thing I hear is "Que Honda Elder!?" And right away I see Ana and Isaac right there smiling, and we visit for a second and he same way was with the other members as I kept going in. I just feel so comfortable with this ward and everyone just is so sweet and real with us! Something I have learned today is I still have a lot of things I do not know and I need to become a better studier of the Book of Mormon and Gospel in General! I learned a whole lot about the gathering of Israel and then I learned so much more about the importance of Agency. I think we sometimes forget how important it is in our lives of progress and I think we forget even more about the importance of opposition in all things! I learned today something I have never truly understood. In both life and church lessons opposition is necessary, that is why we ask questions and have different answers from others, because the question can bring up something opposite of the answer and they can see the better choice. I love how just simple things can make a huge difference in my teaching! Also today was fast Sunday, and I had a wonderful experience where a was able to pray and ask for help, and received my answer, even though hey skipped giving me the bread... haha, but a lady in the ward was really struggling with understanding Agency, and during church she received her answer and felt Gods love! Also as we listened to the testimonies we heard the last testimony of a Hno. That we invited him and his wife to go to the temple together for the first time in about 13 years, and as he got up, he expressed his feelings of how it felt, and then he said, "i made a promise I would go back soon, and I want to keep that promise, because my wife and I feel so happy!" It made me so happy to see a promise we gave them come to pass! Then as we finished church today we began putting in all those who were at church and we were only expecting to have around 3 there, but we had 8!!!! I was blown away and I feel so grateful that my Heavenly Father is giving me these people to work with! We stay so busy, and today at a family search ward fireside I was able to have some what of a break! Today was a wonderful day!

I love all of you so much and pray for your success in all that you do! Have a great week and oh ya. Happy Birthday to a great example of mine! Uncle Lane!! Also Brooklyn!:)

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

De la Misión de Texas Fort Worth

"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you."

Dear Family and Friends, 

Another amazing week has come and gone, and I am so grateful for it! To start off I want to thank all of you who got me gifts or wished me a happy birthday, it really meant a lot to me! And I am so grateful for all of you and the thoughts and prayers you send my way! 

This week I have had a whole lot on my mind, and all I can say is, God truly answers our prayers at the exact time we need them answered! And the Atonement was not meant for the perfect man, but for the sinner. I am so glad that I have that opportunity to use the Atonement in my life!! I can and will testify of this for as long as I live! 

Here is how my week went!!

Week September 12-18 2016

Monday:

This has had to have been one of the most fun P-Days I have had in my mission!! Why is that you might ask? Because of the wonderful things we were able to do today for our birthday week! So we got permission from President Whitney to leave our area to tour the Texas Rangers Baseball Stadium, and it was so cool! We went early in the morning and were getting ready to pay, but we didn't have the chance, so the lady just said, "well, just pay when you come out." So we went on the tour and when we came out she looked at us and said, "don't worry about it brothers. Please just pray for me and God bless you!" All together she let us off 75 dollars worth of a tour! There was five of us and at a 15 dollar fee, and she let us go for free! She didn't realize it, but she made our birthday even better being able to go for free!! So after our fun time we headed to the church and played sports and all, but I have to say my favorite part of the day today was still teaching and trying to help others solve their problems and find God again or for the first time! So this evening we taught a couple who are really struggling. Their parents both have health issues and are not expecting to make it, and they just feel they need a relationship with God, through the same religion! They asked a lot of good questions, but most of all, we shared our testimony that God loves us and there is a place for our families to be together forever! Testifying of that had them wanting to learn more and become closer! It was such a great way to end the night with AG and Samira!

Tuesday:

“The blessings of the temple are available to us all—young and old and everybody in between. It is in the temple that we remember who we really are and see with clarity who we really can become.”—Sister Jean A. Stevens

Today was such a special day for Elder Lopez and I!! We were blessed with the opportunity to go to the temple, however, on our travel there Elder Lopez realized that someone had taken his wallet the day before and that there was no way he was going to have his temple recommend available. So as the other 2 elders entered, Elder Lopez and I sat waiting outside just a little unhappy that we wouldn't be going in... As I sat there I said a small prayer that somehow the temple president could get ahold of President Whitney so that we could go in, and I was amazed that almost 5 minutes later the Temple President came out and said, "Your mission president called, and said I better let you go in the temple, he says you are worthy!" That moment we both filled with joy because he hadn't been in 19 months, and I had had this happen to me twice now where I was so close to enter, and then I couldn't enter! As we went through the session I was so cold and just shivering, however, I had a special experience as I was sitting reflecting in the Celestial Room. I was just sitting there with so many thoughts running through my head. And of course I was still shivering. However, as I bowed my head to pray and ask my father for instruction, help and just a spiritual witness that he was there, I was filled with such warmth that I had no need to rub my hands together nor shiver. I was at peace and calm as ever. I had never in my life had an experience like that in the temple with such a feeling of the Holy Ghost, and hope that I can have those feelings as I get better at studying and praying on a regular basis! So for the rest of the day we were blessed to go to dinner with a family that was super busy, so the wife came home and made us food fast and had to leave, and the husband was running all over the house re-wiring all the plugs! So we hurry quick and ate, and en decided they were super stressed out and so we hurried and did the dishes for them! It was a good experience! And then for the rest of the evening we literally were fighting to get all our lessons in yesterday and actually were not able too, but we taught Isaac Sanchez, Sergio Hernandez and had a family home evening with the Nickel family and Gabriela and her son and father! It was a very beautiful sight to see them connect so well and just laugh about good old times, but more than all I felt the spirit in every lesson. And Sergio's prayer touched my heart! I love my area and those I serve!

Wednesday:

I just love how even the longest days of finding end up being the best days of teaching! So today we had a lot of time just to go finding, and it was something we haven't done for quiet a while, and it was something that really helped me see the importance of talking to everyone. However, as we passed by an active members house to visit with her, we got some sad news about her daughter being confused with her gender. She was devastated and just felt hopeless. So we just passed by, shared a small video and testified that if she did the basics things would get better. The whole time I was sitting there my thoughts kept spinning around the temple, and I knew that if she went there, she would get the comfort she needed and would know what God wanted her to do to help her daughter. So during ye evening we taught a few other lessons, and I feel like the thing I learned the most from today was that everything depends on you. If you want to be active it is your choice, we as missionaries can not change that. If you want to be happy and treat your family right it is your choice. And if you want to live with God again it is your choice. As I testified of this to the Parrajon family I could see them begin to understand that no one will come and make them go, but they have to decided they will go! It is simple, just choose to go without fail, and you will never have the problem of not going! What a great day!

Thursday:

Today was a super fun day for us! To start off the day we were blessed to be able to have a great district meeting where we were ver focused on the importance of setting goals and then working to always achieve them! As we talked about goals, Sister Hall brought up that God has goals of eloping us return to him and it made me think about how in the Book of Mormon God really did give them goals and helped them to achieve them! That is why they had points of resting or a waiting period while building the boat. It was a command, but as they finished building the boat God helped them achieve that one, and start a new goal which would reach their vision of the promised land! As we finished there we had to go to the mission office and redraw a area, because it wasn't going to work for this next transfer! Then as we finished there we went home and did our partial planning! As we were there we went and checked the mail, and that is when we found like 7 packages in the mail for both of us for our birthdays, and it made me feel so good and made me so happy! This evening we were able to teach AG, the husband of Samira, and it was a great lesson where he told us that he was glad we passed by always, because we change their life right now and make them happy! Also we went over and gained a little more of a relationship with Pablo Martinez who is slowly working his way to the point of wanting to be baptized! He is super funny and really does love what we teach, but to many missionaries were forceful before we came in! To end the night we went to the church to finish setting up for both a ward Hispanos Unidos party and our mission leadership meeting that we have in the morning, and then headed home for the night!  

Friday:

¡Dia de la Hispanidad!

Or as the say it Hispanos Unidos!

Today has been such a fantastic day where we have just been so busy with many meetings, lessons and ended the night with a great Spanish Ward Party for the Hispanic Holiday! 

So this morning we were able to go to the Stake center and train the new trainers and leaders for their upcoming roles in the mission, and it was the biggest group in the mission that I have trained with roughly 40 missionaries! However, I was not nervous at all, I was actually kind of excited and it felt like I was home! As we trained I felt like I also gained a testimony even stronger in the simple manuals of the church and also in the importance of simple things like Correction. As I listed about stories from others I realized that I can be better! Then as we finished there we went straight to the mission office where we worked on the new areas for the Spanish elders as we waited for our Transfer review meeting. There I felt at home too, because all of the office staff just are so sweet and Sister Whitney and President Whitney are so loving and practically we are from the same place so we speak the same lingo! Things other don't understand when they speak I just laugh at realizing that we do speak a little different!

So we had a great transfer review meeting and are ready for the transfers coming up, and we also had a great lesson with Karla Hernandez and Rey Castillo who are both still good for their baptism dates and came to the ward party tonight! The ward party was a huge hit, and while there we found a member who's husband is ready to be baptized and then we also found a family who aren't members, but who are interested in us passing by!! So the party was a huge success! What a wonderful day!

Saturday:  

Today was such a wonderful day for me! I have to be completely honest, it does not feel like my birthday, because it really was just another day in the field, and I don't feel like I am any older, but a few of the things we did Helped me feel like it was my birthday! To start off the day we went to a missionary correlation meeting and they all sang to me, and we are my Birthday Cake cookies, and then Elder Lopez and I went straight to a lunch with a member! We had really good lasagna and they even told me that the were buying a cake for the ward meal tomorrow evening! The rest of the afternoon we went and visited with people, and we were able to help out with a recent convert, Victor Hernandez, and his wife get through some struggles, and I am just so glad I have this chance to actually serve them and know them. However, the best part of my birthday was being able to meet up with Isaac and Ana, our recent convert, and be able to be apart of his first experience at the temple doing confirmations! It was a blast and so very spiritual, because we were there the same time the young men and women were from our ward!! I would say it was the best way to spend my birthday by being in the temple! I thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday, because there were so many, and I also thank all those who got me gifts! I was more than spoiled this year!! I couldn't have asked for anything more special!

Sunday:

My thoughts today start on a a quote I wrote down the other night at our Religious Freedoms fireside with Elder Oaks. "We the people, this government depends on you and me." I love this quote, because of both its physical meaning and its spiritual meaning I guess I could say! Physically we the people must stand up for our rights and for what we believe if we want our government to continue in righteousness and we must also stand up for our religious spiritual rights as we are the people of God! Today I feel this applies very well with how my day went! To all who read this I say, Temptation hits everyone, even the most righteous of people, but what i have learned today is that Satan can only tempt us, we have the final say! Today after a wonderful day in church we had the chance to go and visit a few families, but I want to focus on a very sweet and uplifting spiritual experience I had while going to the hospital to give a blessing. We received a call from a member in our ward that asked us if we would go by the hospital to give a blessing to his friend, and we accepted happily. As we walked through the halls of the busy hospital we arrived to a door of a lady we had never met before, but somehow as we walked in we both were able to know her immediately as we visited with her. While we were getting to know her and her life she received a call from her friend (our member), and she had the phone on speaker. As he talked to her he said, "Tracy, those to men, at your bedside, they are two of Gods Angels sent to you and me at this time. I know that they can help you and i know that they know what God wants for you. I love you and hope that you will see and feel of their power as they bless you." In my mind i was thinking, what angels is he talking about, i am far from perfect and feel like my communication with God could be so much better, but i was just so grateful for the faith that he had. Wonderful Tracy was just in tears and looked at us like we were sent from God and loved our uplifting words for her. As we prepared to give her a blessing i learned one of the most special things from my companion. He said, "Tracy, what we are about to do is so sacred and pure," and then he asked, "Would it be okay if we washed our hands before we give you a blessing?" So we washed our hands and gave her a blessing. I was happy to be able to have given her the blessing and learned the most comforting thing of all for  any person. You are a child of God, and he loves you. And he will always welcome you back with open arms. As i left that hospital room, i walked to the truck with more determination of being a worthy vessel at all times, a testimony even stronger of Gods love, and confidence that she will be fine with Gods choices for her! 

I know that God lives, i know that we determine our destiny and that we are the People that can make a true difference in this world.

This week was just a wonderful week and thank you all for your love and support!! Have a great week and know that I love and care for each of you!

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

De la Misión de Texas Fort Worth

A week of Respect and Birthdays!

Dear family and Friends,
I hope all of you had a wonderful week and really found the strength you needed to be able to get through a pen amazing week with two wonderful days of respect, and a how lot of Birthdays! So something I am starting to realize is that the more I talk to the more I find that September is a birthday month! Who wouldn't want a September birthday!?

Anyways, I hope that y'all enjoy my weekly email today and always realize that I have such a strong Testimony of this Gospel! God loves me, and God loves you. And from my mission I have come to realize that! If you don't feel his love ask yourself, "What am I doing to block myself from his showing blessings!?" And God will let you know if you ask with real intent!

Week September 5-11 2016
Monday:
Happy Labor Day!
What a great day it has been where we were able to really do a necessary cleaning on our apartment, and it was really good to do! Then we had the opportunity to go and play sports again, and yes it kind of gets repetitive every week, but it is fun, because every week we get different members that come as well as non members, so we can get to know these people and get them interested in hearing a message about Jesus Christ. So today as we finished our pday we went with the elders to a birthday party of an 8 year old boy in e ward, and he invited the whole ward to go on the outskirts of town where there was Fields many we had his party in the wide open! It was super fun and the best part about it is that one of the brothers of the father Victor, is the brother Sergio that is super interested in how he can be baptized. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and he is just super happy and can not wait for Sunday to roll around again! He said he was going to start reading the Book tonight and it was just wonderful to see how much fun people can have without any Beer or drugs involved! There is a difference in Happiness and Joy! And I saw it tonight! So as we were going home we dropped by Johanna and Maria's house, recent converts, and we were able to see what is going on with them, and we were able to set up a return appointment, and it was just fun to get to know them even more! What a great day it was!:)

Tuesday:
"It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are that you can begin to take control of yourself. As you learn to control yourself, you will get control of your life. If you want to move the world, you first have to move yourself." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "On the Wings of Eagles"
I just love that quote and am glad I ca start the day off with it! So today was a very busy and good day! To start off the day we had a wonderful District Leader Council, where we went with all the leaders of the Zone to train the DL's on what President Whitney taught us! And it was a huge success! We set a good realistic baptismal goal that is reachable, and will be reached to help the zone feel motivated to work even harder! I also learned a lot about counseling, and found that it is to give the leader more information, not to get a result from nothing. Meaning, "God had a set thing he was going to do before the council in heaven, but brought us together for more information and insight, and also for our purpose of growing more spiritually!"
So after our DLC we went and taught Isaac about the restoration and cleared up some misunderstandings and he is ready to go and do baptisms and confirmations next week on my birthday! Also we went and had a lesson with a recent convert that only has 2 months to wait, and then he can go and get his endowments! And as we had dinner, the Marquez family was struggling to sell their home, so we switched our whole lesson to help them and came to the conclusion they needed to go to the temple to know what God wants them to do! Then this evening after FHE we went and helped a member in our complex move some couches and put some tarps over them. We were messing with him telling him it wasn't going to rain with the clear skies above, and then just like Texas weather it poured for about 10 minutes, and he began to laugh at us! Never ever judge the weather in Texas!:) what and amazing day!

Wednesday:
Teaching Simply leads to a simple understanding and powerful spiritual experience!
Also I have learned today that the most effective councils happen at the higher levels of the Church! One of those being the Mission President with his APs and Spanish Training Leaders! So today I was blessed to be apart of a process called Board Day. A meeting that we have with President Whitney and the Assistants to talk about missionaries and get them organized for how the next transfer will go! So we were able to get 4 elders that are going to be training new Spanish missionaries, and then we were also able to get two sister who will be training as well, and then we found our new leaders and opened up the areas that are going to be necessary for the upcoming months with extra missionaries! I was just so impressed as we just discussed their needs, stuck them where we thought was necessary that we were able to get plays from President right away and it all went so smoothly! As we finished there we had to begin to draw out new areas on the maps of some cities so that we could fit more missionaries, and that took a really long time, but was worth it when we finished! However, the best part of the day for me was in the evening when we had the opportunity to teach a few people and see their reactions to what we taught. We were able to go and teach a lady named Consuelo with her friend that referred her to us, Hna. Tapia from a Fort Worth. It was a good lesson on the plan of salvation, and we helped her understand she won't get an answer until she reads and prays and that going to church will help her even more! Then we went to another families house before the night was over, named Samira and AG. So AG is a very less active member, and Samira is his wife, and it was so wonderful to go by and teach them a quick restoration lesson with the Pamphlet! As we taught, we could see a change on both of
their faces and Samira was teary eyed! One of the blessings we saw was when we asked them to come to church and AG said, well we go to Samira's church with her family. But Samira paused him and said, "I don't feel like going there right now, I want to go to church here this Sunday!" So we pray they make it! Today I saw miracles, and I know that God is a loving God and wants his children back!

Thursday:
The days just fly and the people just keep getting better!
Today was amazing to me how everything just came together and worked out so wonderfully! And I am even more happy for the help we have of a couple who understand the work of members as missionaries! So today started off amazing with some really good weekly planning where we were able to set plan for all of our investigators we are working to have dates with right now! So far we have two with set dates, and we would like to have 3 more of our investigators with dates just like that! So we planned a really good and busy week with the fact that transfers are coming up in 2 weeks our plans just get busier until we finally get to the point of being completely packed! However, the rest of the day was super amazing where we had some solid lessons. But I want to focus on one of the best lessons I have ever been apart of with members present! So we have an investigator named Karla Hernandez who we found 2 weeks ago, and every lesson so far we have had the Benitez couple with us. And as we showed up today to finish teaching the Plan of Salvation we were surprised that they had been studying the pamphlet, and pretty much taught the rest of the lesson, we were just there to keep the lesson going forward and to testify. And I also must say that Karla understood so much better all of the things being taught and was able to solve all of her doubts and concerns about other churches because of the religious background of our members! It was super awesome! Then as we left we gave her number to the Benitez to make follow up phone calls and it was just amazing that they were going to be with her in every step of the journey! I am so grateful for these members who understand how to work! In Preach My Gospel Chapter 13 it teaches that the best work is done with members and missionaries a like! And I testify that is the truth! If you want to see miracles happen in your ward and neighborhood just take down your protective barrier of talking about the gospel and share it with everyone! I promise that they will listen, because they are looking for the truth!

Friday:
I think one of the greatest things I have learned today is that when God came before us in the great council in the pre-mortal life, he had a plan of what he wanted to do, so why did he bring the plan before us to council about it? He did it so that we could be Edified together, or to learn for ourselves and catch that same vision and follow it! And because he did that, we followed Christ and fought for our agency and now we are here today on Earth. If it wasn't for God and that council, what would have happened? Would we be here right now with Agency?
So today was not full of lessons or much success of finding, but I can say it was a day that was very worth while and wonderful! We had the opportunity to go to Zone council and have some amazing trainings from a lot of missionaries, and on of the most amazing things that we learned was how to teach clearly with the pamphlets, and we had some really cool experiences with using pamphlets in some role plays we did! Also I want to testify that God is a God of love, I know this because the past few weeks I have felt like God has shown me my weaknesses, and that I have really been struggling with my Spanish. I feel like I can't connect like my companion can with others as he is a native, and so I don't speak as much, or I feel like they judge my Spanish because I don't speak as well, or I am just not confident. And that is exactly what I have found! God has shown me I am weak at Spanish and need to be humble and pay more for help and then I also need to stop listening to Satan who doesn't want me to keep trying! I have realized as I strive to keep talking and learning that God blesses me and I touch the hearts of those around me. There is no way I would be where I am without the great examples of my family!



Saturday:
"Religion is the foundation of Democracy and Prosperity!"
What a wonderful Saturday just full and busy! So today we had the blessing of studying really well and then going and having a good lunch with Hno. Benitez, our solid member missionary who is out visiting the less active families and actually helping them want to come back to church! He is a huge example for me and I am grateful for him! After that we went and we apart of a baptism of the son of a recent convert, and it was wonderful! Actually, crazy this is the recent converts whole family that were not members where there, and they were able to understand more what we do, and then we were able to talk and find out yet are coming to church tomorrow, and we are going to teach 2 of his brothers and see if they are interested in being baptized! He is another great example for me on how to be a member missionary! And then as we were finishing there, Isaac Sanchez showed up and we had a wonderful lesson on the plan of salvation, and he is so excited to go inside of the temple and do baptisms! In the evening we were able to be apart of an Elder Oaks "religious Freedoms Fireside, where he came to Colleyville and we watched from Hurst the broadcast! It was so inspiring and uplifting and helped me understand how to be a better citizen and how to be more bold and stand for what I believe! There was a lot I learned, but they showed us a new website we can use that opened today! It is called Religiousfreedom.lds.org
And it is full of amazing things! And then this evening we went and visited Maria Jose and Johanna, who are recent converts, and the 15 year old made us a wonderful cake for our birthdays, and then they sang to us, it was so wonderful! I loved it so much and feeling at home with them! Today was a wonderful day!



Sunday:  September 11th. Happy Birthday Grandpa and Braydon!
"We have become as a great army. We are now a people of consequence. Our voice is heard when we speak up. We have demonstrated our strength in meeting adversity. Our strength is our faith in the Almighty. No cause under the heavens can stop the work of God. Adversity may raise its ugly head. The world may be troubled with wars and rumors of wars, but this cause will go forward." President Gordon B. Hinckley
This day is a day of sadness and reflection for what happened just 15 years ago today, but such a moment of happiness knowing that we have learned from what happened and have progressed! Something I have learned from a video today that I watched called "Finding Hope" is that even when the hardest of attacks come our way, we can always see that God helps us see the positive in all we do have! He can bring us closer to family, church, in all him! And today being a Sunday was a wonderful way to see that! It is wonderful to be serving in a place where there is both state and country pride. Where both flags fly high and every flag you see is the size of your house, and most of the time they come in pairs of 4! However, it was such an eyeopener to me to drive to church and notice every single one at half mast to pay respects to those who gave their lives, and those who found theirs! For me, it makes me reflect on my mom who gave everything to bring me and my brother and sisters in this world. My dad, who risks his life everyday to save others, my brother who does the same along with many family members. Really, I am surrounded by heroes, and I couldn't be more blessed! Today we were blessed to be able to go to a fireside given by President Whitney to translate, and it was such a blessing! I just could feel the spirit and truth of the message of the restoration, and I was able to make a wonderful friend with am investigator brought from Fort Worth! He is just wonderful and speaks no English, but for some reason we just clicked! So I am going to stay in touch with him! I think everyday about how my mission has changed my life, and I always come back to the thought of my parents who taught me in my youth, who raised me right, who loved me for being me and helped me see how to really live happy! I am where I am because of them! Today was amazing!

Good birthday pday getting permission for a Ranger Stadium tour that was just outside of our area. The best part was at the end when we were going to pay our fee and the lady at the window just said, "All I ask is you pray for me, God bless!" She let us go for free! What a birthday treat!!

I love all of you so much, and every chance I get to say it for the rest of my life I will!! Have a great week, and know that I am so humbled and grateful to have your support in this change of my existence, meaning forever!
Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

De la Misión de Texas Fort Worth